Three-dimensional costume garment kit and methods of assembly

ABSTRACT

A costume kit for assembling a three-dimensional costume garment from a two-dimensional storage state are provided herein. Also provided are methods of assembling a three-dimensional costume garment from a costume garment kit. The kit includes a plurality of substantially flat decorative panels that can be arranged and manipulated in a specified order to create a three-dimensional costume garment. The kit may also comprise securing devices and instructions. The assembled costume garment may provide a layered effect for added detail. The costume garment may further include one or more cushioning panels for providing comfort to the user during use, preventing slippage during use, and/or providing added depth to the costume. Corresponding decorative and, optionally, cushioning panels are secured together through corresponding securing apertures defined by the panels. A securing device is used to secure the various panels together and to form a three-dimensional costume garment.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to decorative costume-wear.

Specifically, the disclosure relates to multi-component decorativecostume assemblies.

BACKGROUND

In recent times, intricate costume designs inspired by film, animationand computer games have grown in popularity. The ideal costume is trueto the underlying concept, aesthetically pleasing, and comfortable forthe wearer. Such costume designs require sophisticated construction andfunctionality, and yet are only viable products if they are affordableto the consumer and capable of various cost efficiencies. For example,transportation and storage costs could be prohibitively high if suchcostumes were shipped, stored and displayed in fully-assembled form.Likewise, costume enthusiasts can ill-afford the space required to storemultiple fully-assembled costume garments or the time required fortedious assembly and disassembly of a complex costume.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a plurality of costume panels for a helmetof a first example embodiment of an improved costume garment in anunassembled planar state.

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the helmet of FIG. 1 in anassembled state.

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the helmet of FIG. 1 in anassembled state.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a plurality of panels for a torso garmentof a second example embodiment of an improved costume garment in anunassembled planar state.

FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of the torso garment of FIG. 4 in anassembled state.

FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view of the torso garment of FIG. 4 in anassembled state.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The methods, apparatus and techniques described herein provide improvedand reusable costume garments. The improved costume garments arethree-dimensional and configured to partially enclose a user's body andare capable of highly-efficient disassembly and storage. These costumegarments are distributed in a “costume garment kit” (also called a“kit”). These costume garment kits permit ease of storage,transportation and display, and allow assembly into a highly-detailedthree-dimensional costume garment that at least partially encloses theuser's body. The costume garment kit may include a number ofsubstantially flat panels corresponding to portions of a user's body andadapted for being sequentially secured together into a three-dimensionalcostume garment. FIG. 1 illustrates example two-dimensionalsubstantially flat panels distributed as part of a costume garment kit.The costume garment kit may also provide securing devices (not shown inthe Figures) for securing together these panels and assemblyinstructions (not shown in the Figures) for assembling athree-dimensional costume garment, as described herein.

In one example embodiment, the costume garment kit provides methods ofassembling a three-dimensional improved costume garment for applicationto a user's body, for example, using assembly instructions. According toone such example, a plurality of decorative or aesthetic costume panelsadapted for assembly into a three-dimensional costume garment areprovided along with appropriate securing devices that can be applied tothe panels. One or more of the decorative panels are manipulated asnecessary to adopt a three-dimensional configuration. A decorative panelmay define one or more securing apertures that permit passage of asecuring device, such as described herein, to secure the decorativepanel to one or more other panels. The decorative panels are thensecured together using the securing devices in an appropriate fashion ororder to create a three-dimensional costume garment.

In some example embodiments, corresponding decorative panels may besecured together by a disengageable securing device, such as a pin, ascrew, a bolt-and-nut arrangement, a clip, a rivet or any otherappropriate securing device. To provide for ease of assembly anddisassembly, the disengageable securing device may be non-destructivelyremovable and may be easily manipulated by the costume garment user orby a third party, whether the user or third party is a child or anadult. In other example embodiments, the disengageable securing devicemay be adapted so as to permit relative rotation of the secured panels.For example, the securing device may define a smooth pivotable portionaround which the secured panels may rotate relative to one another. Insome example embodiments, the securing device may be a bowtie tangrivet, manufactured by Snapz, LLC, and described in co-pending U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/558,039, which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

Other example embodiments may further include one or more cushioningpanels for providing comfort to the user and depth to the costumegarment, or for preventing slippage of the three-dimensional garmentduring use. A cushioning panel may substantially correspond in locationto one or more surfaces of a user's body, and may correspond in shape toa corresponding decorative panel of the present invention. A cushioningpanel can be provided to define one or more securing apertures thatcorrespond to those defined by a corresponding decorative panel.

Other example embodiments may further include one or more reinforcingpanels (not shown) for providing structural support to thethree-dimensional costume garment when fully assembled. Such reinforcingpanels may or may not be visible to a viewer when the costume garment isworn by the user, and may be adapted as necessary to conform to athree-dimensional configuration. To provide strength, reinforcing panelswill typically be manufactured from a plastic polymer such ashigh-density polyethylene polymer (HDPE) or another polymer with desiredcharacteristics of, for example, weight, resiliency, tensile strength,and flexibility. The reinforcing panels may define securing aperturescorresponding in like fashion to those defined by correspondingdecorative and cushioning panels.

A first example embodiment of an improved costume garment in accordancewith the techniques described here is generally illustrated at referencenumeral 9 in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the attached drawings, wherein referencenumerals therein correspond to like reference numerals herein. Thecostume garment kit may provide for any number of themes, sizes,designs, or functionalities common to costume garments. In commercialembodiments, an instruction guide may also be provided that indicatescorresponding panels and identifies corresponding securing apertures.Such a guide may also identify an appropriate order of assembly forforming the desired three-dimensional costume garment. For example, animproved costume helmet garment 9 (described below with reference toFIGS. 1-3) may comprise decorative and, optionally, cushioning panelscorresponding to a user's mouth, chin, jawline, cheeks, nose, eyes,brow, crown, and the sides and back of a user's head. An improved torsocostume garment 209 (described below with reference to FIG. 4-6) maycomprise decorative and, optionally, cushioning panels corresponding toa user's abdomen, breast, sternum, collarbones, neck, front ribcage,rear ribcage, shoulders, oblique regions, and spinal column.

In the first example embodiment, the costume garment kit can beassembled to provide an improved costume garment helmet 9. Thisembodiment is depicted in FIGS. 1-3 and includes a plurality of panels10-150 substantially corresponding to the surfaces of a user's head.More specifically, this embodiment includes a decorative eyeshield 10,decorative left 20 and right 70 side panels, and left 30 and right 80side cheek cushioning panels corresponding to like surfaces of a user'shead. Decorative panels corresponding to the user's mouth-and-chin 40,left 50 and right 90 cheeks, left 60 and right 100 ears, crown-and-brow110, nose 120, rear head 130 and nape 150, as well as a rear cushioningpanel 140 are also provided. The assembled helmet 9, depicted in FIGS. 2and 3, may be secured together by use of rivets or other fasteners, suchas bowtie tang rivets 160.

In this example embodiment, headstraps 170, 180 (not shown in FIGS. 2and 3) may optionally be secured to the helmet to facilitate preferredsizing to the user's head. Legs of left 170 and right 180 headstrapscorresponding to front, top, and rear surfaces of the user's head may beoverlapped and attached to one another by use of Velcro™, adhesive film,or an appropriate fastening device such as a hook-and-loop orbelt-and-tooth arrangement, snap buttons, and the like. By increasing ordecreasing the amount of overlap between corresponding legs of theheadstraps, the user may tighten or loosen the fit of the helmet asdesired.

Decorative panels are panels that define the exterior aestheticappearance of a costume garment. Each of the decorative panels 10-20,40-70, 90-150 substantially corresponds in location to one or moresurfaces of the user's body and may include decorative graphic elements(not shown) thereon. Such surfaces typically include the surfaces of thehead, of the torso, of the upper or lower leg, or of the upper or lowerarm. In certain example embodiments, decorative panels may alsocorrespond in size and/or shape to the relevant surface(s) of the body.As stated above, such decorative panels may include one or more colors,graphics or designs as desired. Each decorative panel defines at leastone securing aperture a-ff, permitting the corresponding decorativepanels to be secured together as described below. A decorative panel mayfurther define at least one ventilation aperture, permittingtemperature-regulation during use and comfort for the user.

Decorative panels 10-20, 40-70, 90-150 may be manufactured from anymaterial possessing desirable properties of, for example, cost, weight,flexibility, resiliency, and ability to bear colors or designs.Decorative panels will typically be manufactured from a polymerpossessing the desired properties. In some embodiments, the polymer isHDPE polymer. While the decorative panels are substantially flat in adisassembled storage mode, and/or as distributed in a costume garmentkit, in some embodiments certain decorative panels are adapted formanipulation into a three-dimensional costume garment. Accordingly, adecorative panel may define one or more crease lines, fold lines, orperforations, or may be bent or pre-bent to assume a desiredconfiguration. Such an adaptation is indicated at reference numeral 42in FIG. 1 and is in the form of a series of small perforations in aknown manner.

In like fashion, a cushioning panel 30, 80, 140 may also be adapted forappropriate curving, bending, folding, or creasing. Thus, a cushioningpanel may define one or more crease lines, fold lines, or perforationsto facilitate assembly of a three-dimensional costume. Such adaptationmay include, but is not limited to, manufacture from a material that isreadily amenable to curving, bending, folding, or creasing. In someembodiments, a cushioning panel is manufactured from a material that isboth pliant and compressible. In some embodiments, a cushioning panel ismanufactured from a closed cell foam, such as polyethylene foam,polyethylene roll, cross-linked polyethylene, neoprene rubber, or gymrubber.

In another example embodiment, the panels of a costume garment kit, suchas those illustrated in FIG. 4, can be assembled to provide a torsogarment 209, as seen in FIGS. 5 and 6. This embodiment is depicted inFIGS. 4-6 and includes a plurality of panels 210-450 substantiallycorresponding to the front and back of a user's torso. The front torsopanels include left 210 and right 240 front cushioning panels,decorative panels corresponding to the user's left 220 and right 250front ribcage, left 230 and right 260 oblique regions, left 270 andright 280 breast, sternum 290, left 310 and right 320 collarbones, andsternum cushioning panel 300. The rear torso panels include spinalcushioning panel 410 and decorative panels corresponding to the user'sspine 420, right 430 and left 440 shoulder panels, and right 450 andleft 460 rear ribcage. The assembled torso garment, depicted in FIGS. 5and 6, is secured together by use of rivets or other fasteners, such asbowtie tang rivets 160. Corresponding panels of this embodiment definecorresponding securing apertures a-x, aa-ff.

To provide the desired level of detail and dimensionality to a givenimproved costume garment 9, 209, the decorative panels may be adaptedfor sequential assembly to create a layered effect. By “layered effect,”it is meant that corresponding decorative panels may be secured to oneanother in a built-out fashion, providing depth to the three-dimensionalimproved costume garment. A layered effect is accomplished by providingtwo or more decorative panels that generally correspond to the samesurface of the user's body and securing the panels so that a first panelis disposed closer to the given body surface and a second panel isdisposed on the first panel and thus further removed from the bodysurface, e.g., panel 80 is disposed atop panel 70. A third panel may bedisposed on the second panel, and so on, e.g., panel 90 is disposed atoppanel 80 and panel 100 is disposed atop panel 90. Layering may beaccomplished, for example, by disposing one decorative panel atop and incontact with another decorative panel, or may also be accomplished bydisposing one or more cushioning panels between corresponding decorativepanels.

A specific order of assembly may be necessary to produce athree-dimensional improved costume garment, such as garment 9 or 209, ofappropriate structure and design that at least partially encloses theuser's body. For example, while a helmet garment 9 may be appropriatelyassembled without regard to whether a right cheek panel 100 or theanalogous left cheek panel 60 is first secured to a mouth-and-chin panel40, it may be necessary to follow a specific order with respect tosecuring non-analogous decorative panels, such as an eyeshield panel 10and a nose panel 120. Any requirement for step-wise assembly typicallywill be dictated by the particular structure and desired aesthetic ofthe three-dimensional improved costume garment being assembled. Thedecorative or cushioning panels may vary widely in number, size, shape,and overall design, depending on the costume garment.

To assemble an improved costume garment, a costume garment kit asdescribed above and an appropriate number of securing devices 160 arefirst provided. Substantially flat decorative and, optionally,cushioning panels are arranged sequentially to match correspondingsecuring apertures; e.g., panels 20, 30, 40, 50 and 120 are arranged tomatch like apertures indicated at shared lowercase reference letters iand j on the panels. Decorative panels are folded, bent, curved, orotherwise manipulated as necessary and corresponding panels are securedtogether by use of a securing device, such as a bowtie tang rivet, toform a three-dimensional costume garment (i.e., a securing device passesthrough securing aperture “i” of panel 20 and corresponding securingapertures “i” of panels 30, 40, 50, and 120 to secure the panelstogether).

Table 1 below sets out steps for assembling the costume garment kitpanels depicted in FIG. 1 into the three-dimensional helmet garment 9 ofFIGS. 2 and 3. Table 2 below sets out steps for assembling the costumegarment kit panels depicted in FIG. 4 into the three-dimensionalimproved torso garment 209 of FIGS. 5 and 6. In FIGS. 1 and 4,corresponding securing apertures are indicated by shared lowercasereference letters.

TABLE 1 Stepwise Assembly of Helmet shown in FIG. 1 Steps PanelNumbers: 1. (optional) 20 placed over 170 2. (optional) 30 placed over180 3. 20 placed over 10 4. 30 placed over 20 5. 70 placed over 10 6. 80placed over 70 7. 40 placed over 30 and 80 8. 50 placed over 30 9. 90placed over 80 10. 140 placed over 90 and 50 11. 60 placed over 50 12.100 placed over 90 13. 120 placed over 50, and 90 14. Fold 110 alongfold lines 15. 110 placed over 10, 20, 50, 70, and 90 16. Fold 130 alongfold lines 17. 130 placed over 110, 50, and 90 18. 150 placed over 20and 70 19. Fold 100 and 60 along fold lines

TABLE 2 Stepwise Assembly of Torso Garment shown in FIG. 4 Steps PanelNumbers: 1. 220 placed over 210 2. 230 placed over 220 3. 250 placedover 240 4. 260 placed over 250 5. 270 placed over 220 and 280 placedover 250 6. 270 and 280 folded along fold lines adjacent to securingapertures c and d, g and h, a and b, and e and f to create depth atchest plate as shown in FIG. 5 7. 290 placed over 270 and 280 8. 300placed over 290 and into recess formed by folding of 270/280 in step 69. 310 placed over 270 10. 320 placed over 280 11. 220, 230, 250, 260,270, 280, 290, 310 and 320 folded along remaining fold lines 12. Securetogether front panels 210-320 at like securing apertures 13. 420 placedover 410 14. 450 and 460 folded along fold lines 15. 450 and 460 placedover 420 16. 430 and 440 placed over 450 and 460, respectively 17.Secure together rear panels 410-460 at like securing apertures

As described, a costume garment kit of the present disclosure mayprovide for any number of themes, sizes, designs, or functionalities.While exemplary improved costume garments described herein relate to a“space trooper” theme, other example embodiments may depart widely fromthis theme to encompass any desired costume motif. It will also beunderstood from the foregoing that, although specific examples have beendescribed herein for purposes of illustration, various modifications maybe made without deviating from the spirit and scope of this disclosure.Thus, the invention is not to be limited to the above description, butis to be determined in scope by the claims which follow.

1. A costume garment kit for assembly of a reusable costume garment, comprising: a plurality of substantially flat decorative panels corresponding to the surfaces of a user's body, wherein each of the panels defines at least one securing aperture and is adapted for assuming a three-dimensional configuration of a costume garment when assembled; and, one or more securing devices for securing corresponding apertures defined by the corresponding panels, wherein assembly of the decorative panels using the one or more securing devices forms a three-dimensional costume garment partially enclosing the user's body.
 2. The costume garment kit of claim 1, wherein the decorative panels are adapted for sequential assembly to create a layered effect.
 3. The costume garment kit of claim 1, wherein at least one of the decorative panels defines a fold line.
 4. The costume garment kit of claim 1, wherein the securing device is a rivet.
 5. The costume garment kit of claim 4, wherein the rivet is a bowtie tang rivet.
 6. The costume garment kit of claim 1, wherein the panels are manufactured from high-density polyethylene polymer.
 7. The costume garment kit of claim 1, further including a cushioning panel substantially corresponding to one of the decorative panels.
 8. The costume garment kit of claim 7, wherein the cushioning panel is manufactured from a closed-cell foam.
 9. The costume garment kit of claim 1, wherein at least one of the decorative panels defines a ventilation aperture.
 10. The costume garment kit of claim 1, wherein the plurality of substantially flat decorative panels correspond to the surfaces of at least a portion of the user's head and wherein the decorative panels are adapted for assembly into a helmet.
 11. The costume garment kit of claim 10, further including: a decorative eyepiece panel adapted for providing the user with a field of vision while wearing the helmet; a decorative mouth panel adapted to partially cover the user's mouth and chin; a decorative cheek panel adapted to partially cover a cheek of the user; a decorative ear panel adapted to partially cover an ear of the user; a decorative side panel adapted to partially cover a side of the user's head; a decorative jaw panel adapted to partially cover the user's jawline; a decorative nose panel adapted to partially cover the user's nose; and, a decorative crown panel adapted to partially cover a top surface of the user's head and the user's brow.
 12. The costume garment kit of claim 10, wherein the pivotable securing device is a bowtie tang rivet.
 13. The costume garment kit of claim 1, wherein the plurality of substantially flat decorative panels correspond to the surfaces of at least a portion of the user's torso and wherein the panels are adapted for assembly into a torso garment.
 14. The costume garment kit of claim 13, further including: a decorative abdomen panel corresponding to the user's abdomen; a decorative breastplate panel corresponding to the user's breast; a decorative sternum panel corresponding to the user's sternum; a decorative collarbone panel corresponding to at least one of the user's collarbones; a decorative neck panel corresponding to the collar region of the user's neck; a decorative front panel corresponding to at least one side of the user's front ribcage; a decorative oblique panel corresponding to at least one of the user's oblique regions; a decorative spine panel corresponding to the user's spinal column; a decorative rear panel corresponding to at least one side of the user's rear rib cage; and, a decorative shoulder panel corresponding to at least one of the user's shoulders.
 15. A method for assembly of a three-dimensional costume garment, comprising: providing a plurality of substantially flat panels generally corresponding to the surfaces of a user's body, wherein each of the panels defines at least one securing aperture and is adapted for assuming a three-dimensional configuration of a costume garment; and providing at least one securing device, wherein at least one of the panels is manipulable by a user to assume a three-dimensional configuration and wherein the panels are securable by inserting a securing device through corresponding securing apertures defined by corresponding panels to form a three-dimensional garment that partially encloses the user's body.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the securing device is a rivet.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the rivet is a bowtie tang rivet.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the corresponding panels can be bound together with the bowtie tang rivet by inserting a shank of the bowtie tang rivet through corresponding securing apertures in at least two of the corresponding panels and rotatably mating a tip of the bowtie tang rivet with a receiving unit of the bowtie tang rivet at a decorative panel surface opposite a head of the bowtie tang rivet.
 19. The method of claim 15, wherein the corresponding panels can be arranged and secured with respect to one another in a sequential fashion to create a layered effect.
 20. The method of claim 15, wherein at least one of the panels is a decorative panel manufactured from high-density polyethylene polymer and wherein at least one of the panels is a cushioning panel manufactured from a closed cell foam. 